Black-Owned Ride Share App Moovn Takes Advantage of Uber Boycott

The #DeleteUber boycott, and now the exodus from Lyft, leaves a vacuum for more obscure ride share companies who couldn’t wish for a better scenario, to come in and fill the need of customers now seeking an alternative to the popular tech brands. And there is one small independent competitor that specifically stands to benefit among the African American community, although people of all races, religions and creeds are free to enjoy its services.

Moovn, an app created in the vain of Uber and Lyft, is a ride share business that is available in several major U.S. Cities, including Atlanta, San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, Portland, and Seattle. It was founded by Godwin Gabriel, who taught himself how to code, and delivered on his idea to build a rival to the mainstream ride share companies that have nearly put livery cabs out of business. The company has grown to even service citizens across seas in Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya, and was on it’s way to growing even more, with Gabriel’s plan to release the app in 20 more cities by March. With the recent backlash against Uber and Lyft, that growth stands to signify an even greater and more rapid expanse.

Since President Donald Trump took office less than two weeks ago, opposition to the promises he ran on during his 2016 campaign has shown itself in a much more visible sense than it did before he began actually delivering on them, with each executive order he has signed into law. Protests for women’s rights immediately sprang up after he signed legislation to defund organizations that promote abortion and more recently, thousands of protesters flooded airports around the country to voice their dissent against his controversial travel ban on refugees and nationals coming in from various nations in the Middle East. And it hasn’t been covered as much, but he’s also had supporters coming out to show their own strength in numbers, with VP Mike Pence overseeing an Pro Life rally in Washington D.C., and a Starbucks boycott going into effect after the coffee chain promised jobs to refugees impacted by Trump’s executive order.

The protest against ride shares began with Uber when over the weekend the #DeleteUber hashtag spread, upon protesters noticing that the company’s drivers were lowering their prices and picking up customers at JFK airport in the absence of drivers striking under the New York City Taxi Workers Alliance. With each Uber customer who dropped the app, Lyft picked up a new follower, as many reconciled them to be an honest competitor. But word has since spread that by joining Lyft, customers are only giving their money over to Trump confidant Carl Icahn, who is a heavy investor in the company.

There are some perks to Moovn that Gabriel points to as attributes to the service in comparison to Uber and Lyft. Moovn doesn’t have the sort of price increase fees that Uber and Lyft are known for, such as cost adjustments to “surge” and “prime time” hours. It is also a black-owned business whose success goes towards the employment of African Americans and drivers on the continent of Africa.